Random thoughts: It’s Marshawn’s Super Bowl

With two commercials, three real interviews and his words quoted by Katy Perry and Tiger Woods, The Beast has become a media monster. Because he doesn’t like to talk.

The 12s showed up 25,000 strong at Chase Field in downtown Phoenix Saturday. / Seahawks.com

PHOENIX — For a guy claiming to shun attention, Seahawks RB Marshawn Lynch has won Super Bowl week with Elvis-style hysteria for his words, deeds and general bad-ass deportment. It’s his world, and we’re just renting a room in the back. He’s thrown shade over the Patriots, Seahawks, Roger Goodell and even the fabled weather, which has been itself mostly shade.

So let’s explode a myth right here: Lynch is neither shy nor a reluctant interview. Beyond appearing naked in ESPN The Magazine earlier this year, he gave individual interviews this week to si.com, Maxim and NFL.com’s Mike Silver, a longtime resident of Oakland, Lynch’s hometown, who also attended his college, Cal.

Even when he doesn’t answer questions, he says things that turn into national memes. During press conferences here, halftime entertainer Katy Perry and golfer Tiger Woods quoted him from his Tuesday media day session: “I’m just here so I don’t get fined.” In the case of Woods, who was in his first tourney of the year at the Phoenix Open, he wasn’t kidding. He missed the cut.

ESPN.com reported that according to data gathered by Twitter, Lynch was mentioned in about 35,000 tweets in December 2013, compared to 68,000 for Dallas’s DeMarco Murray, 115,000 for Philadelphia’s LeSean McCoy and 158,000 for Kansas City’s Jamaal Charles. In December 2014, Lynch was mentioned 366,000 times. Over the past month, Lynch’s name has appeared in 2,199 news stories, according to LexisNexis, about 500 more than the same period last year.

And of course, he has re-popularized the crotch grab, which now can be witnessed when drivers complete the filling of gas tanks, or late-arriving kids get the school bus to stop after its departure.

As a national pop-culture phenomenon, Lynch has arrived.

If he comes close to repeating his NFC Championship production of a career-high 157 yards in a Seahawks win, Beacon Plumbing may get enough business to re-pipe the nation.

“He’s a lot smarter than what people think,” said WR Doug Baldwin this week. “He is very wise, very wise.”

If you’re a Beast Mode fan, or just a fan of irony and chaos, you have to want to see a Seahawks win just so Lynch can be handed the trophy from Goodell, whose office has fined Lynch more than $131,000 and counting.

As a conscientious objector to the group interview as well as to league policy that has so often punished him, Lynch’s individual success potentially could provide the most diabolically awkward post-Super Bowl moment since Pete Rozelle presented the Lombardi Trophy in 1982 to nemesis Al Davis, with whom he had feuded for years. Rozelle cleverly kept both hands on the trophy so neither was available to shake the outlaw Raiders owner’s hand after the 27-10 win over Philly.

The man of allegedly few words will be heard nationally like no athlete in Seattle history.

That’s action, boss.

25,000 12s gather in rain as global warming rests a week

Although the Sunday game forecast is for sunny and 70, much of the week has been sloppy damp, like about 28 days of any January in Seattle. So few were surprised when an estimated 25,000 fans ignored the drizzle to show up Saturday afternoon to a free celebration at Chase Field downtown, the Diamondbacks’ ballpark that closed its roof.

Owner Paul Allen and DE Greg Scruggs, on the injured reserve list, were among those who saluted the fan support in Phoenix, where the supporters of the Patriots, judging anecdotally by watching the crowds on the streets, have been overwhelmed, much as the Broncos fans were in New York the past year.

Amazing to see how many Seahawks fans are out here. Might be the most lopsided I’ve seen it in last 15 Super Bowls.

No way to know how many of the 12s for the Chase Field event had tickets. But if they were planning to buy on the secondary market, the price has never been more dear. This week the face value of tickets — ranging from $800 to $1,900 — was dwarfed by prices that briefly exceeded $10,000, by far the highest in Super Bowl history.

As of midday Saturday the NFL Ticket Exchange, the league’s official ticket re-sale website, didn’t have tickets for less than $9,000, the Associated Press reported. The cheapest ticket on StubHub was nearly the same. One listing on Craigslist in Phoenix was selling tickets for $8,000 each with the seller willing to meet the buyer at their bank to complete the transaction.

Prediction

Pete Carroll’s record when he has had extra time to prepare (bowl games, season openers, post-bye weeks, etc.) shows only a single loss, the BCS so-called national championship in 2006 when USC lost to Texas and Vince Young, 41-38. Ask the Broncos about the preparation of the Seattle defense.

In the 10 Super Bowls which the No. 1 regular-season defense has appeared, its team won nine times, the only miss being in the strike-shortened 1982 season.

Seahawks 26, Patriots 20

Quote of the week

Seahawks DE Michael Bennett: “I love my wife’s booty. She has the best butt of all time.”

Considering all, the Seahawks won the week here in the desert, about 100-3. Now for the game.

Thousands came in out of the rain to enclosed Chase Field Sunday in downtown Phoenix. / Drew McKenzie, Sportspress Northwest

YourThoughts

PokeyPuffy

Hopefully Carrol has won the preparation battle as you mention here Art. The positive mindset of Wilson and Carrol is a real help in these situations me thinks. Personaly i would be a basket case, but they just seem to eat it up.

Game wise, I think the Hawks need a quick start, a slow first quarter with lopsided time of possession (i.e. 3 and outs) could be fatal against the PAts. Maybe Bevel opens up the playbook earlier, and avoids the usual 2 rushes and a pass.
I’m reminded a bit of the CFB championship game just a few weeks ago, where Ohio State was seemingly on the ropes early. They went for it on 4th down midfield close the end of the 1st quarter, sensing momentum slipping away. That put things right for OSU and they never looked back.

I expect us to yield yards to Brady but as with the Packers limiting them to field goals would be awesome

Jamo57

Marshawn gave every working stiff a catchphrase for the workplace: “I’m just here…….” How can you not like that?

Good to see Chuck Knox making an appearance. And better to see his teams are no longer ‘The Golden Era’ for the franchise.

Now let’s win that game…..

jafabian

Is Beast Mode one word or two? Is there a hyphen? I can never tell. Just as well. Anything Marshawn does only adds to his pop culture status. Last year it was Sherman’s rant. This year Marshawn does the opposite and might have outdone Richard. Next year Angry Doug will only talk via Twitter and become an international sensation.

Read today that SI is picking the Patriots and they’re the trendy pick in Vegas. Most NFL players are saying pick ‘em and most ESPN analysts lean towards the Hawks. I’m saying it’ll be a 38-13 win for the defending champ with DangeRuss getting MVP. Marshawn will fumble the ball at the last minute to ruin his chances for one as he realizes if he scores his 3rd TD he’ll get the MVP and be forced to talk to the media. Don’t want that action boss!

http://rip-ragged.com/dross Raymond Meyers

We’ve come a long way since the Icky Shuffle.

3 Lions

The stars are aligning for a massive statement game from the Beast on the grandest stage of them all. Let’s hope the refs don’t get in the way.

RadioGuy

“As of midday Saturday the NFL Ticket Exchange, the league’s official ticket re-sale website, didn’t have tickets for less than $9,000, the Associated Press reported.”

Looks like Deflategate didn’t hurt sales too badly. Recession’s definitely over when people will pay $9K+ for a ticket to a football game. Roger and the Old Boys are laughing all the way to the bank, where they’ll have to stand in line behind Marshawn, who’s been giving the NFL lessons on how to game the public. It’s all about that brand, Boss.

ll9956

I surely hope your prediction is right, Art. As always in a situation like this, I’m firmly entrenched in Nervous Nellie mode.

GO HAWKS!

Effzee

Random Thoughts: It could be Mashsawn’s Super Bowl, Unless Darrell Bevell has Other Ideas. (fixed it for you)

WeeklyRoundup Email

Followus on Twitter

Likeus on Facebook

Circleus on Google+

SportspressNW.com has partnered with Crosscut.com. Watch exclusive videos of Art Thiel and get the latest political and civic news from the Northwest at Crosscut.com.

ArtThiel on KNKX

Kirsten Kendrick's Q. & A. with Thiel can be heard every Friday during Morning Edition at 5:35am and 7:35am and again that same day on All Things Considered at 4:45pm. It also airs Saturday at 6:35am and 9:35am.